What kind of habitat do they need?

In its original habitat in Africa, the giant African land snail lives in a tropical climate with warm temperatures year round and high humidity. Since it has been brought to so many other areas in the world, it has learned to live in cooler climates. This species prefers areas of low to mid-elevation, with temperatures between nine degrees Celsius and twenty-nine degrees Celsius. It can also survive in temperatures even colder by hibernating in the ground and warmer temperatures by becoming inactive. These snails live in agricultural areas, coastal areas, wetlands, forests, urban areas, and riparian zones. ("Achatina fulica", 2014a; "Snails (Giant East African Snail)", 2012; Cowie, 2010; Stokes, 2006; Vogler, et al., 2013)

How do they grow?

The fertilized eggs are laid in a nest, or in the dirt and leaves, to protect and disguise the eggs. The eggs then hatch and become immature snails, which grow to adulthood in about six months. ("Achatina fulica", 2014a; "Achatina fulica", 2014b)

How do they reproduce?

Giant African snails are hermaphrodites. This means that instead of having male and female snails, each snail has both male and female reproductive parts. Young snails only produce sperm, but as they grow larger, they will produce both sperm and eggs. Even though they have both male and female parts, the snails still need to mate with another snail. Their own sperm cannot fertilize their own eggs. Since only older snails have both sperm and eggs, young snails (who only have sperm) usually mate with older snails (though older snails can also mate with older snails). Young giant African snails mate at all hours of the night, while older adults mate in the middle of the night. The snails choose their mates based on size and age. If two older snails decide to mate, both may pass sperm to the other snail. If it is a old snail and a young snail, the young snail will pass sperm to the old snail. Size also has an effect. If it is a larger snail and a smaller snail, the larger snail will act as a female and the smaller snail will pass his sperm to the larger snail. ("Achatina fulica", 2014a; "Giant African Land Snail", 2008; "Giant African snail", 2013; "Lissachatina fulica", 2014; "Pest Alert", 2011; Cowie, 2010; Egonmwan, 2007; Tomiyama, 1996)

When two giant African snails mate, the two snails exchange sperm. The sperm may immediately fertilize the eggs, or the sperm can be stored inside the body for up to 2 years before fertilizing any eggs. When the eggs are fertilized, the snail does not lay them until 8 to 20 days later. They are laid in nests or among rocks and dirt on the ground. The eggs usually hatch after 11 to 15 days. The number of eggs that a snail lays often depends on the age of the snail and is between 100 to 500 eggs. Giant African snails are able to produce new batches of eggs every two to three months. ("Achatina fulica", 2014a; "Giant African snail", 2013; Egonmwan, 2007; Tomiyama, 1996)

The only care that giant African snails give to their offspring is to lay the eggs in nests or soil, which usually protects the eggs from predators and other threats. After the eggs are laid, the parents leave. The young snails are on their own once they hatch. (Cowie, 2010; Egonmwan, 2007)

Parental Investment

pre-hatching/birth

provisioning

How long do they live?

Giant African snails live for 3 to 5 years, though some snails have been known to live as long as 10 years. In their natural habitat, predators are the main reason for the death of these snails. In the other areas across the world that they have been brought to, these snails do not have many predators. In these areas, the snails usually die from natural causes. ("Achatina fulica", 2014a; "Lissachatina fulica", 2014; Cowie, 2010)

Range lifespanStatus: wild

10 (high) years

Typical lifespanStatus: wild

3 to 5 years

Typical lifespanStatus: captivity

3 to 5 years

How do they behave?

Giant African land snails spend most of their time by themselves, except when mating. These snails produce a slime that they use when they move. By putting the slime on the surface of the ground, and then moving on the slime, the slime reduces friction and allows them to move smoothly over any rough surfaces. Giant African snails are nocturnal, meaning that they are active during the night and inactive during the day. They often bury themselves in soil, which helps them to stay cool and also to hide from any predators. If temperatures get really warm or really cold, these snails can survive by becoming inactive and basically hibernating. They will become slow and sluggish until temperatures and weather conditions go back to normal. ("Lissachatina fulica", 2014; "Pest Alert", 2011)

How do they communicate with each other?

One of the few times that giant African snails have to communicate with each other is during mating. This is done with sight and with touch, as one snail will climb on top of the other snail. They also will change the position of their heads, and change the movement of their bodies. These snails cannot hear. They have two pairs of tentacles. The upper pair of tentacles have eyes at the tip, while the lower pair of tentacles have an organ that senses smells. They use smell to find food. ("Achatina fulica", 2014a; "Giant African snail", 2013; Cowie, 2010; Egonmwan, 2007)

Do they cause problems?

Giant African snails are an invasive species across that world. This means that these snails have been brought by people to other places in the world that they did not originally live, and they are causing problems for other animals and plants in these new areas. Since these snails will eat a large variety of plants, they will also eat agricultural crops. This causes a huge loss in crops for farmers, and they will lose money when they have less crops to sell. Giant African snails also can have parasites that can harm other animals if the animals eat the snails. This includes humans that eat the snails. Giant African snails can cost cities, states, or countries millions of dollars in not only crops losses, but also in attempts to prevent this species from doing any more damage. ("Achatina fulica", 2014a; "Achatina fulica", 2014b; "Giant African Land Snail", 2008; "Lissachatina fulica", 2014; "Species Profiles: Giant African Snail", 2014; Carvalho, et al., 2003; Cowie, 2010; Stokes, 2006)

How do they interact with us?

People around the world eat giant African snails. In some places, they are even considered a delicacy. Fish farmers may also use giant African snails as a cheap source of bait to feed fish. These snails can also be used when making fertilizer, chicken feed, and biological compounds in laboratories. ("Achatina fulica", 2014a; "Lissachatina fulica", 2014; Stokes, 2006)